On the Road!

Just like Kerouac but with less booze and more packing cubes

Hello from the road! For the next month, this will be a book tour newsletter! Published at semi-random intervals!

I am a maximalist, and these are my packing cubes. Pray for me.

I am not checking a bag. Instead, I am shoving two skirts, two dresses, two pairs of pants, one jumpsuit, one jacket, and one sweatshirt into these Baggu cubes and just praying that I can ever zip the suitcase again.

Okay, this is just some advice. Be nice to every brilliant artist you encounter. One day they might hand you an envelope that contains a tiny perfect thing, made just for you. Sophie Blackall, I love you. Have you all bought Sophie’s new book yet? You really should do that. It will make your life better.

This is an “H and H bagel” served to me at the airport. A shanda! Anyway, on to my first stop, Nashville, TN. I love Nashville because it has great food, great music, and also my big sister lives there.

My big sister, however, was in Paris. I knew this in advance, and wasn’t even mad—it’s Paris, I get it, Ann—but lookee what was waiting for me. A care package. Spouses of writers, agents, publicists, take note! This is helpful! Here is what was in Ann’s care package: floss, travel size fancy toothpaste, three different granola bars, tissues, two tubes of collagen peptides (ok to be honest I have no idea what these are for), bandaids, chapstick, Advil, Tic Tacs, and a goddamn Chanel lipstick, okay? I aspire to Ann’s god level of care. Ann Patchett for goddamn president.

But the show must go on, Ann or no Ann! Here is Barnabus, Parnassus bookseller, with 1200 copies of my book. He was a great help to me, along with Lindsay and Sarah and Elyse and Rae Ann and the whole staff. If I ever go missing, check under a couple tables at Parnassus, I’m probably napping with a dog.

Look at those floofy paws! Truly, a great help.

Margaret Renkl is a national treasure.

You know what I love? When you make a friend and then you make friends with their whole family. This is my friend Ben Thompson, one of MFA classmates, and his sister, Catherine. Ben has just finished a novel! So exciting! All of you agents who are looking for smart, brilliant new writers for your list, holler at me. And Catherine is all over my house tour now up at Cup of Jo—she painted a portrait of me and Mike for our wedding invitation, and then she painted a picture of me when I was pregnant with River, and both are hanging on our walls. Yay friends!

(Above left, me pregnant, by Catherine!)

The next morning, I had a very very very big interview on the phone (more on that to come next week) and then flew to Washington DC, where I had five minutes to change my clothes. I could have stayed in bed for an hour, but no! I had dates!

Well, one date with two wonderful people. Sarah Baline worked at Politics and Prose when my first book came out. She was nice to me then and she’s nice to me now and also in all the years in between. Jennifer Close (of Ketchup fame) and I had a wonderful conversation at Politics and Prose and now it is my bedtime. I fly to Texas at dawn.

This review from Maureen Corrigan! My heart.

Ok, at the airport, heading to TX, and taking note of how the various airport booksellers stack up.

Not great. (I moved it.)

Great! I always thought Molly Shannon and I would be the best of friends.

Ok, more to come from Texas, California, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Illinois!

Here is my event schedule again, just in case you want to party, and here of course is the link to pick up your own copy of This Time Tomorrow, in case you’re starting to fret about my sanity and/or dry skin due to so much airplane air. Thanks in advance!